prologue"Where did she go!" A man in his mid-thirties growled out.
"How the hell should I know? I was following you." Replied one of the five men that were helping him in his feat.
"Go look over there," The first man directed, "And you, go over there." He directed another man in the opposite direction.
Before he could lead the other two men, he was stopped by a phone call. Seeing the caller ID flash Boss, he gulped. Taking a deep breath, he picked it up.
"Is the job done?"
"Not yet boss. We.." The man trailed off not wishing to complete the sentence and invoke the wrath of his employer.
"Don't tell me you lost her! You know what will happen to you if you did don't you?"
The man blinked rapidly as his mind conjured up a multitude of grisly images of decapitated heads, broken limbs and ripped out tongues.
"Y-Yes Sir. But you don't have to worry. We have her narrowed down. She won't be able to escape." He tried to defuse the situation the best he could and hopefully gain some mercy.
"I don't want her narrowed down, I want her finished! And make sure you get that flash drive. If even one out of the two jobs remains incomplete, you will never see the light of day again."
The man closed his eyes as the call ended.
Gritting his teeth, he barked, "We need to find that bitch or we're all dead. Come on!"
xxxHuffing, she looked over her shoulder to make sure she had lost the men who had been following her. Taking in rapid breaths, she mustered up her courage and limped towards the nearest building that she could find.
To her luck it happened to be a hotel that was hosting a wedding at the moment. She ignored the strange looks that were being tossed her way and tried to avoid the kids that were running around. She clutched onto her bag tighter as she made her way through the crowd.
She stopped a waiter who was passing nearby and asked for a phone. Being directed towards the receptionist's desk, she began to proceed at a faster rate. The information she has needs to be handed in to the higher authorities before chaos ensues.
"Are you okay?" An elderly lady spoke to her. "You look so scared."
She clutched onto her bag tighter and scrambled towards the lobby.
Holding onto the desk, she took a deep breath and asked if she could make a phone call to the receptionist. Being given permission, she began dialing her emergency contact.
"Here you go Ms. Tiwari, your cheque," The hotel manager spoke to a woman standing near her. "I must say the food was simply exceptional! You must let us work with you again."
The woman chuckled, blushing, and nodded in agreement.
"I agree, we must. This has to be one of the nicest staff that I have worked with. If you ever need me, you know who to call."
She got distracted as a female operator began speaking on the other line.
"Shit!" She cried out, attracting the attention of the few members that were standing there.
The woman beside her scrunched her eyebrows as she took in her appearance.
"Listen, if you get this there's a chance I might be dead so you need to listen very carefully." She began after hearing the beep. "I think, I think I have found the file that will finally be able to incriminate Red Bird. But there are some people after me and I'm trying to run away but I don't think I can." She broke her sob as a voice came through on the other line.
"Hello? Where are you right now?"
"Sir, I'm... I'm at a hotel right now but I think those men are still after me. Sir, please help me."
"Call the police. Okay, tell me which hotel are you at right now, I'm coming right now. Tell someone that you're being followed, they'll help you."
"I-I can't Sir, they're here," She cried seeing her stalkers approach her. "I'm at Hotel Oberoi right now. I'll hide the flash drive somewhere here. You'll have to find it. I-I have to go now. B-Bye." She frantically put down the phone and ran away from the desk.
The receptionist who had been observing her, began dialing for the police.
xxxThere were two things that were running in her mind:
1. Stay alive.
2. Get the flash drive to her boss.
She knew that there was a risk to the job but she had not anticipated that it would get this far. To have five dangerous men follow her with the aim of taking her life... it was both mind-boggling and horrific to her.
She ducked behind a car as she waited some of the men to walk away.
"Nayi Daboo. Abhi tak ni." She peered over the headlight and saw the same woman from the lobby talking on the phone.
Her heart raced wildly as a thought crept through her mind. The main priority was to protect the flash drive. If she died, they would get it. But if she hides it, there's a chance. There's a chance that a disaster could be prevented from happening.
She opened her bag and took out the small red and black USB. Ripping a small paper, she wrote down a quick message. Gripping onto both with tight hands, she crept her way to the woman. Nearing close enough, she quickly dropped the flash drive and the note into the woman's bag.
"Hey!" Startled by the men calling out for her, she began running.
The woman turned around and was able to merely catch the back of her head. As for the men, she barely noticed as she was distracted by her little cousin.
xxx"Why are you making this so difficult? Just tell us where the flash drive is!" He yelled before kicking her in the face again.
The man in the white shirt got a phone call again.
Boss.
"Well?"
"We found the girl."
"And?"
"She doesn't have the flash drive, Sir."
"What do you mean she doesn't have it? Where is it!"
Rolling his eyes, he answered, "I don't know Sir. We're trying to find out. She's not saying anything."
He pulled the phone away from his ear as his boss went on a tirade of yelling out expletives.
"I WANT THAT FLASH DRIVE. I don't CARE how you do it, just GET IT DONE!"
The leader of the small group turned around and began assessing the situation. He could kill her right now as he's been ordered but then that will mean not knowing where the USB is. But, if he lets her live then she will undoubtedly try to get that drive back. But there's a major risk involved. If she survives, she could spill the beans on everything that has happened and will happen. Rumors will spread like a wild fire, they will be under constant scrutiny and if the plan works out, they will be held responsible. They could also keep torturing her but he can see that will take them no where.
"What do we do with her?" One of his partners asked as he nudged her body.
She was just beginning to drift into unconsciousness.
"Get rid of her. Throw her over the bridge or burn her. I don't care. I just don't want to see her face again."
The men looked at each other and giving a small nod, began picking up the body.
As three men dealt with her, another individual came up to the leader.
"You know, there was a woman near her before we found her."
He scrunched his eyebrows at this new information. "Woman? What woman?"
"Some caterer. She was inside the lobby and then outside in the parking lot. She might know something."
"Or have the USB?"
"Or knows who has it."
"Find out who she is."
"Already done. Here she is."
The man took the phone from his colleague and observed the captioned photograph.
"So Ms. Suman Tiwari. It's about time that we had a little visit."
His laughter echoed over the splash of water that rippled behind him.
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